Quick and Easy (but fabulous!) Valentines -- ScrapbookPal.com

It's a new month and a new set of projects for ScrapbookPal.com!  This month they sent me the Cricut Spring Holiday Cards cartridge and the awesome white Signo Uni-Ball Impact Gel Pen. Now, I would never have given this little seasonal cartridge a second look -- I normally gravitate to the cartridges that have a little more "meat" to them -- but it has some adorable artwork!  Even more exciting to me, it has great frames, boxes, and envelopes.  Just look at these:

Pictures from www.cricut.com

Aren't those great?  I can't wait to make more fun things with them.  For this little Valentine's candy box, I just used my Gypsy and selected both the box and the front that I wanted.  I enlarged the box to as big as would fit on a 12x12 page.  Because I had them both selected, it automatically sized the little card for the front just right.  I also cut a plain white cardstock piece to go behind the "You are Foxy" card so that it would stand out a little better.

The whole thing took me about 5 minutes, tops.  The box came together in a snap (I used hot glue to keep it together) and then I just slipped the front card right into those pre-cut slits.  I'm envisioning super cute class valentines, just cut in a smaller size and then filled with some little treat.

But of course I couldn't just leave it so plain-Jane.  I mean, it was really cute, but the fabulous white pen from ScrapbookPal.com was feeling left out.  So I used it to doodle all over that front card, giving it more fun and personality.  I also outlined just a few of the hearts on the box, just to tie them in with the doodling on the card.  That added just a couple of minutes to the project, but I love the difference it makes!

Chances are you're already well acquainted with the Signo Uni-Ball Impact Gel Pen, but if you aren't, let me tell you -- it is quite possibly the best white pen on planet Earth. (I'm willing to allow that aliens with more advance technology may have come up with something better, but I also may or may not have a theory that that is where mine keep disappearing too...)  It writes so smoothly and has such a nice bright white color.  One word of warning with these, though -- you definitely want to store them laying sideways (rather than vertically) because the tips will get clogged if you don't.  And then you'll want to cry.  ScrapbookPal.com has a great price on these right now, too, so it's a good time to stock up!

So give this one a second look -- there is a lot more to it than just its seasonal use.  You'll be seeing a lot of projects using these labels, boxes and frames from me in the future!

Other materials -- patterned paper by Imaginisce

TIME -- My prayer for 2011

If you've ever sat next to me in class, in a meeting, or most definitely at church, you know I'm a doodler.  Big time.  As in, I can't listen to what a presenter is saying if my hand isn't sketching something out.  I never leave home without my notebook and a mechanical pencil.  Usually it's word art, whatever I'm thinking about or what is going on at the time.  Last Sunday my two little ones stayed home sick from church, which allowed me to -- gasp! -- actually sit and listen and ponder during the service.  I know, who does that?  Not mothers of 2-year-olds.  Anyway, I was thinking about time and how we never know what moment might be our last.  This is what I doodled while I was thinking, and I like it so much I thought I would share this little part of myself with you.  This is how I want to live my life.  Let's all make the most of the time God gives to us!

Have a happy day!

Hang in there!

I've been wanting to participate in a challenge over at Cinema Saturday forever, and when the movie of the week was Up!, I knew I couldn't let another week pass me by.  I love this movie so very much -- Carl (the little old man) looks so much like my Grandpa Neves, who passed away about 12 years ago.  He was so special to me, so of course the opening sequence of the movie made me start crying right away.  The whole movie is just uplifting and wonderful, and I LOVE it!  Phew.  Okay, my love fest is over.  The challenge was to use balloons on a project inspired by the movie.  The inside of this card says "Hang in there!"  I think about how Carl kept the memory of his wife alive and never gave up on their dreams together, and how my grandpa -- a real-life hero to me -- worked for 30 years at a job he hated (he worked for the IRS) so that he could support my grandma and their large number of children and ensure her a good retirement.  He knew how to "hang in there," and I think we can all use that kind of encouragement from time to time!

For this card, I just punched hearts from scraps of paper, added a few more diecuts for clouds, trees, and a little house, then doodled all around the edges and added the little guy hanging on for dear life.  The clouds, balloons, and the big tree are popped up on 3D foam.  I cut the card base a little smaller than usual so that all the elements could come out from the edges to add to the 3D effect and still fit in a regular envelope.  The 3D is another little shout-out to the movie!

Materials:  PP -- Scenic Route; Punch (heart) -- EKSuccess; Diecuts (little circles, clouds) -- Cricut

These little piggies!

It's been quite a while since I got some 12x12 pages done -- I've been mostly doing cards and mini-albums lately. But I just had to scrap these adorable pics of Eliza with her first pigtails! Isn't she just the cutest thing? It is so stinkin' fun to finally have a girl to play with and to scrap for!

This layout is yet another tribute to stash scrapping. I've had all these supplies for months or even years! I couldn't find background paper in my stash that worked for the feel I wanted, so I found a round foam stamp and painted the polka dots on myself. It turned out just as cute as I'd hoped! I drew the wonky scalloped square myself as well on an ooooooooolllllddddd piece of patterned paper I thought I'd probably never use. But it was perfect for this page! I painted the chipboard shapes and sprinkled them with transparent glitter. TFL

Supplies:
Felt and chipboard shapes: Fancy Pants
Patterned paper: Paper Pizazz
Cardstock: DCWV
Title letters: Cuttlebug Olivia alphabet
Pig: Cricut My Community Cartridge, cut at 3"